The Trump administration first presented Iranian representatives with proposed details of a nuclear deal more than a month after talks began, Axios reported.
Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, gave a written proposal to the Iranians on Sunday, during the fourth round of negotiations, sources told Axios.
The plan concerns an Iranian civilian nuclear program and requirements for monitoring and verification, sources told the outlet.
The proposal, given to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, then was taken to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and other top officials in Tehran.
A Iranian senior adviser told NBC News on Wednesday his country was prepared to sign a deal that allows it to enrich only to the lower levels needed for civilian uses and requires it to give up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in exchange for lifting all sanctions.
Trump said Thursday a deal was close on Iran's nuclear program that would avoid military action.
"We're not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran," Trump said in Qatar, the second stop of his multi-day Gulf tour.
"I think we're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this," he said, in reference to military action.
He added that he wants to avoid a war, "because things like that get started and they get out of control. I've seen it over and over again... we're not going to let that happen."
In Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump said the proposal, "an olive branch" to the Iranians, was "not an offer that will last forever. The time is right now for them to choose."
The U.S. proposal came after the two sides had exchanged ideas for a deal.
In the first round of talks in early April, Witkoff told the Iranians he wanted to focus on building a relationship before discussing specifics of an agreement.
During the third round of talks in late April, Witkoff accepted a document with Iranian ideas for a nuclear deal. The two sides then exchanged questions and answers.
U.S. officials then worked on parameters for a deal.
The fourth round of talks ran for some three hours in Muscat, the capital of Oman, which has been mediating the negotiations, according to a U.S. official.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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